This is at least my 3rd time reading this novella -- and each time, it's quite fun. For fans of the Outlander series, these peeks into the life of LorThis is at least my 3rd time reading this novella -- and each time, it's quite fun. For fans of the Outlander series, these peeks into the life of Lord John are entertaining and enlightening, and will make you love John even more. For extra enjoyment, check out the audio version. The narration absolutely captures John's dry wit. ...more

The 7th Poldark book is a long one, and occasionally gets bogged down in politics. However, there are also some major developments, serious drama, andThe 7th Poldark book is a long one, and occasionally gets bogged down in politics. However, there are also some major developments, serious drama, and a heartbreaker of an ending, so all in all, I just can't give this book less than 5 stars. Dying to see what happens next....more

Another excellent installment in the Poldark series, although the tension between Ross and Demelza is hard to take, and Demelza's actions are truly upAnother excellent installment in the Poldark series, although the tension between Ross and Demelza is hard to take, and Demelza's actions are truly upsetting. I couldn't pay too much attention to the political scheming, but enjoyed the further explorations of the various relationships and the characters' struggles....more

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a truly lovely look at memories, connections, and the complicated ways in which families are formed.

We meet ErnesLove and Other Consolation Prizes is a truly lovely look at memories, connections, and the complicated ways in which families are formed.

We meet Ernest as an adult in 1969, as the World's Fair (with its brand-spanking-new Space Needle) is getting underway in Seattle. Ernest is living apart from his beloved wife Gracie because of a disorder that has stolen most of her memories and leaves her highly agitated whenever Ernest is around. As he sees the city preparing for the spectacle of the World's Fair, he's brought back to his memories of 1909, when he fell in love with two very different girls during a visit to the Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo, held at the very same place.

Ernest's earliest memories are horrific -- his life as a starving child in China whose mother gives him away because she knows she can't care for him. He's basically sold as chattel and carted across the sea to America, where he moves through a succession of charity homes and schools, always an outsider due to his interracial heritage. Equally horrible is the way in which his patron offers him off as a raffle prize, a humiliating experience for Ernest which ultimately leads to the happiest years of his life. As a 12-year-old servant in the Tenderloin brothel, he's treated kindly and given a home, surrounded by the upstairs girls and the servants, all of whom shower him with love and make him feel for the very first time as if he truly belongs.

At the Tenderloin, he forms a deep attachment to both Fahn, a Japanese girl a few years older than him who works as a servant, and Maisie, the tomboy daughter of the house madam who seems destined to follow in her mother's footsteps. The three of them form a tight-knit unit, and stick together through unexpected changes to their happy home.

Author Jamie Ford keeps us guessing until close to the end. We know that Ernest loved both girls as a young boy, and that he ended up married to one, but he manages to avoid revealing the answer without any unnecessary gimmicks. It works; both girls love Ernest and have special relationships with him. We can tell how much they all care for one another, with the purity of an adolescent friendship that hasn't bloomed into outright romance.

Mixed in with Ernest's memories of the early 20th century are scenes from 1969, as he begins to share pieces of his past with his grown daughter, revealing his own secrets but wanting to preserve his wife's. As the novel progresses, the entire family is changed by some of the truths that begin to be revealed.

He drew a deep breath. Memories are narcotic, he thought. Like the array of pill bottles that sit cluttered on my nightstand. Each dose, carefully administred, use as directed. Too much and they become dangerous. Too much and they'll stop your heart.

The writing in Love and Other Consolation Prizes is beautiful. Through rich descriptions, we get a true sense of Seattle in the early 20th century, with the flavors of its neighborhoods, the personalities and politics of its citizens, and the diversity and tensions springing from so many different people living in such close proximity to one another.

The descriptions of Ernest's time at the Tenderloin really shine. The brothel isn't tawdry; it's an upscale establishment, frequented by the upper crust of Seattle society, with girls who receive dance, elocution, and Latin lessons in order to be able to entertain and converse intelligently with the clientele. The people of the Tenderloin are a family, and it's only Madam Flora's illness that brings an end to the idyllic days there.

Likewise, the more horrible aspects of Ernest's past -- the memories from China and the sea journey, especially -- are painted for us in language evocative of the experiences as they would have been felt and remembered by a child. These sections of the book are upsetting and feel quite real, but since we know from the start that Ernest survived and ultimately thrived, the bad parts never overwhelm the more upbeat parts of the story.

I highly recommend Love and Other Consolation Prizes. As historical fiction, it succeeds in bringing the reader into the world of Seattle in both 1909 and 1969, tied together nicely by the World's Fair at each of these two times. And as a story of human relationships and the complications of love, it simply shines. Love and Other Consolation Prizes is a gorgeously written book that tells a fascinating tale, and in my opinion, is one of 2017's must-reads.

In As Bright As Heaven, the castastrophic Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 is made personal as we see the disease and its devastating impact through the eIn As Bright As Heaven, the castastrophic Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 is made personal as we see the disease and its devastating impact through the experiences of one family. The Bright family, having already suffered the loss of an infant to a heart condition some months earlier, relocates to Philadelphia from the countryside so that the father can start a new career as partner and heir to his uncle's funeral home business. For the mother Pauline and her three daughters, it's a chance at a new life in a new city, moving away from the location of their recent heartbreak and starting over.

Between living in the family quarters of the funeral home, the continuing war in Europe, and then the onslaught of the flu, the family can't escape death. Through the eyes of Pauline and each of the girls, we see the darkness of the time period as loss piles upon loss, with no rhyme or reason for who lives and who dies.

The story of the Spanish Flu pandemic is tragic and fascinating, but I found the individual characters and their perspectives less compelling than I would have hoped. Perhaps having so many narrators -- not just Pauline, but also the three daughters, one of whom is only nine years old -- dilutes the immediacy. The book gets off to a slow start, although the pace picks up quite a bit from about 40% onward, once the flu begins to spread and the family's life begins to change. The subplot about the orphaned baby adds some suspense, but it's fairly simple to see where that storyline is going.

I liked the characters well enough, and overall thought this was a fine read about an interesting time period. I can't really put my finger on why the book as a whole just didn't particularly grab me.

Absolutely one of my favorites reads for 2017. I loved everything about this book -- the main character, the premise, the events that occur, the visitAbsolutely one of my favorites reads for 2017. I loved everything about this book -- the main character, the premise, the events that occur, the visits to the past, the character's inner thoughts, the gorgeous writing -- it's all just spectacular. A must-read.

This prequel to Code Name Verity gives us a look at a younger Julie, on the verge of becoming the remarkable woman we know and love. The Pearl Thief iThis prequel to Code Name Verity gives us a look at a younger Julie, on the verge of becoming the remarkable woman we know and love. The Pearl Thief is a good and captivating adventure/mystery romp, with a gorgeous setting (Scotland!) and an unusual cast of characters. Well worth reading. My full review is at Bookshelf Fantasies....more

(Note: Listened to the audiobook, June 2017)I think Georgette Heyer will now be my go-to author for when I need something to lighten the mood. Because(Note: Listened to the audiobook, June 2017)I think Georgette Heyer will now be my go-to author for when I need something to lighten the mood. Because Arabella is absolutely delightful, and listening to the audiobook was the perfect antidote for a major, crabby funk.

Arabella has a wonderfully rom-com feel to it. Arabella overhears Mr. Beaumaris making a snide remark about girls looking for money coming up with excuses to cross paths with him, and she is so offended that she's being lumped in with fortune-hunters (when it was really a carriage mishap that brought her to his doorstep) that she impetuously declares herself to be "the" Miss Tallant -- you know, the fabulously rich Miss Tallant. Oh my.

Before she knows it, Arabella is the center of the London season, as every son of distinguished but cash-poor family seems to suddenly be in love with the dear girl. She's turning down marriage proposals left and right, and meanwhile feels increasingly guilty that her spur-of-the-moment lie has become the accepted truth. So how can she ever say yes to a proposal knowing she does so under false pretenses? And given the butterflies she's feeling over Mr. Beaumaris, how can she force herself to confess the truth to him and lose his respect and affection?

What a tangled web we weave...

The story may be a trifle predictable -- yes, we all know where this love story will end up -- but it's such fun to see how we get there. Mr. Beaumaris is the epitome of fashionable society. All the young men hoping for society standing copy his style, his manners, even his sardonic little tweaks to propriety (for example, after he wears a dandelion in his buttonhole, suddenly all the young men flood London florists with demands for dandelions). He's known in town as "the nonpareil", and his presence at any gathering automatically lends it cachet. It's entertaining to watch people fall all over themselves to interact with Mr. Beaumaris, and the reader (listener) catches on long before Arabella does that he's both fond of her and is onto her little secret.

There's a dark cloud in Arabella, as Arabella's younger brother comes to London as well and tries to live the high life. As he indulges in high fashion, parties, gambling, and gaming houses, he falls into such extreme debt that he sees either death or enlistment as his only options. This is a light-hearted novel, so obviously things work out (I won't say how), but it's touch and go for a while there, and I honestly worried about him.

I occasionally had a little twinge of discomfort about Arabella's relationship with Mr. Beaumaris. She's seventeen, and he's a very sophisticated and polished thirty. Not an unimaginable age difference, but there are times where it seems that what he loves about her most is her innocent youth and naivete, and there were a few times where it teetered on the edge of creeper-ness for me.

Now I'm making it sound weird, and it's really not. Overall, I found Arabella utterly charming, and loved the main character as well as the depictions of all the silly upper class foolery that makes up high society and the London season.

As for the audiobook, it's a wonderful listen. Narrator Phyllida Nash nails Arabella's innocence and enthusiasm, as well as Mr. Beaumaris's haughtiness and dry humor. The only two difficulties with listening to the audiobook are 1) the author uses a lot of terminology related to society matters, fashion, types of carriages, and so on, many of which I wasn't familiar with -- but it's hard to stop to figure out while listening to an audiobook (especially when said listening is happening while driving a car), and 2) at some point the pace got frustrating for me. Arabella isn't exactly a suspense novel, but as Arabella gets more and more snared by her made-up story and torn between her feelings for Mr. Beaumaris, her urgent need to help her brother, and her wish for honesty, I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next -- but I had to, since my listening time was parceled out between my drives to and from work.

Arabella would be a great point of entry for anyone considering giving Georgette Heyer a try for the first time, and it's certain to please anyone who's already enjoyed some of her books. As for me, I will definitely seek out more Georgette Heyer novels, especially when I find myself in need of a bit of cheering up....more

Consider me a convert to the cult of Georgette Heyer! These Old Shades is the second book I've read by her, and my new favorite. It's got a bit of eveConsider me a convert to the cult of Georgette Heyer! These Old Shades is the second book I've read by her, and my new favorite. It's got a bit of everything -- the dashing, aristocratic hero, the waifish young girl with a mysterious identity, a long-buried scandal that's revealed in a truly marvelous scene, and lots of occasions to rub elbows with high society in all the best salons of Paris. The romance is rather delicious, and there's plenty of witty banter and silliness mixed in with the more dramatic deceptions and revenge schemes.

The third book in the Kopp Sisters series is another terrific adventure starring Deputy Sheriff Constance Kopp and her sisters. In this installment, tThe third book in the Kopp Sisters series is another terrific adventure starring Deputy Sheriff Constance Kopp and her sisters. In this installment, the main trouble is young girls looking for freedom and purpose, and the fear the authorities seem to have at the prospect of “waywardness”. Blameless girls can be scooped up and put in jail at the request of their parents, simply for leaving home without permission. Constance becomes convinced that there has to be another way, and does her best to find it.

I love the characters in these books. Amy Stewart does an amazing job of bringing to vibrant life these audacious, unusual women, and shows us the incredible biases they faced on a daily basis. It’s great fun knowing Constance was a real person, and I couldn’t help but admire her devotion to her principles and her job, even while being scoffed at for doing “men’s work”.

Book #3 isn’t perfect, though: The plot itself is a tad flat compared to the previous two books, which featured dangerous criminal cases, pursuits, threats, and imminent risk to the Kopps. Here, it’s a quieter sort of story, as the plights of Minnie and Edna are interwoven with Fleurette’s own escapade. The story is never dull, but it lacks the adrenaline and speed of the previous two.

Still, it’s absolutely worth reading. The characters continue to be delightful, and it’s interesting to see how the looming involvement of the United States in WWI begins to cast a shadow over the events in the story. I definitely want to see what happens next!

A final note: I listened to the audiobook, and it’s wonderful! Narrator Christina Moore has a gift when it comes to these characters, making each sister distinct, as well as the rest of the characters, whether working class New Jersey girls or New York cops or traveling vaudeville stars. Their voices are sharp and funny and full of personality, just like Amy Stewart’s characters themselves.

If you have had the pleasure of reading the Kopp Sisters books yet, start with Girl Waits With Gun, and then keep going!...more

Book #5 in the Poldark series. The Black Moon is long (over 500 pages), and the momentum definitely sags a bit, especially in the middle. Ross and DemBook #5 in the Poldark series. The Black Moon is long (over 500 pages), and the momentum definitely sags a bit, especially in the middle. Ross and Demelza's relationship is stable for once, which is nice to see, and yet means that their marriage doesn't get center stage quite as much as I'd like. The end builds up nicely to some real drama and conflict, and I need to know what happens next!...more

Highly recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction. The plantation setting is presented with a few twists, and Lavinia's role is something I haHighly recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction. The plantation setting is presented with a few twists, and Lavinia's role is something I haven't read much about previously. The characters are well-drawn and the plot is powerful, upsetting, and unforgettable....more

Set during the Civil War, this historical novel tells the story of Iris Dunleavy, a young woman who somewhat blindly enters into a marriage with a plaSet during the Civil War, this historical novel tells the story of Iris Dunleavy, a young woman who somewhat blindly enters into a marriage with a plantation owner, only to realize that his cruelty is more than she can bear. When she attempts to expose his crimes, he instead has her declared insane and sends her away to an island asylum to be “cured” of her irrational defiance and delusions. While there, Iris meets Ambrose, a Confederate soldier haunted by his wartime experience. Iris and Ambrose fall in love, but Iris’s determination to escape with her lover and start a new life is doomed from the start. It’s a haunting and tragic love story, beautifully written, with an unusual setting and a memorable and well-defined cast of supporting characters. I just adored this one. Sad? Yes. But oh, so beautiful. The asylum is set on Sanibel Island off the coast of Florida, and the descriptions of the beaches, sea, birds, and sky give Blue Asylum a feeling of sunshine and freshness, even when the plot makes me want to cry....more

Told through letters and miscellaneous documents, The Second Mrs. Hockaday has a scattered feel to it that makes investing in the story difficult. WeTold through letters and miscellaneous documents, The Second Mrs. Hockaday has a scattered feel to it that makes investing in the story difficult. We first meet Placidia as she’s under arrest and awaiting trial, writing a letter to a beloved cousin. Her letters take us back to the beginning of her marriage, but then jump around in time, and later, the book includes journal pages she wrote during her husband’s absence as well as correspondence between members of the next generation in the family. Because of the jumping chronology, it’s hard to get a sense of which events are linked to which — which is unfortunate, as the kernel of the story is good.

Placidia’s impetuous marriage to the recently widowed Major takes place the day after she meets him, and they only have two days together as man and wife before he leaves to rejoin his troops, leaving Placidia in charge of both his plantation and his motherless child. Her struggle to keep the farm going, to nurture the young boy, and to protect a future with the man she barely knows is moving, and I couldn’t help admiring Placidia’s bravery.

However — the big reveal toward the end of the book when we discover the truth about Placidia’s supposed crime is absolutely obvious from the very beginning. Even though some smaller details offer surprises, the fact that the big secret is so easily guessed takes away some of the punch when awful events actually transpire. A more minor complaint is the lack of any narration (via letters) of anything from later in Placidia’s life. While we learn more from other people, it feels abrupt to lose her voice in telling her own story, as if only those earlier years contained the events she felt the need to document.

The Second Mrs. Hockaday is a touching look at a young bride struggling to create a marriage during the awful war years. Unfortunately, it lacks some of the power I’d expected.

This multi-generational family saga reminds me in some ways of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, as it shows th3.5 stars, rounding up to a 4.

This multi-generational family saga reminds me in some ways of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, as it shows the blessings and curses that pass from one generation to another in a family dominated by strong, unique women.

The story is informed by its backdrop of pre-state Israel, as the historical events are interwoven with the characters' stories and experiences. The family's Sephardic traditions and culture create a memorable sense of the language, customs, foods, and more that keep the family connected to its past.

I enjoyed the story as a whole, although I found the language occasionally clunky and wondered whether this was a translation issue. (The book was originally written and published in Hebrew, and appears here in English translation for its US release.) I also think the title of the book is problematic and misleading, as it implies that the book is about one particular character, when in fact it's about the entire family and all of its members as they struggle to find love and meaning in their lives.

Still, I recommend this book for its view into Israel's history as well as the shifting relationships and memorable characters.

Disappointing. The setting is dramatic, but the book itself is so overwritten that I always felt about 10 feet removed from the characters and their eDisappointing. The setting is dramatic, but the book itself is so overwritten that I always felt about 10 feet removed from the characters and their emotions....more

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans tells the story of a young boy evacuated from London during WWII. Noel is an odd little duck, and when his eccentric godmCrooked Heart by Lissa Evans tells the story of a young boy evacuated from London during WWII. Noel is an odd little duck, and when his eccentric godmother/guardian dies, he’s left without a soul to care for him. Vee is a con woman who schemes to earn a little cash because she really has no other way of supporting her deadbeat son and her doddering mother. Vee takes Noel in so that she can collect the fostering fee for housing evacuees, but the two soon find that his brains combined with her slippery ethics make for successful money-making. This is an unusual and offbeat story, with a lot of charm, plenty of humor, and lots of heart-tugging sentiment too. The historical setting is nicely conveyed, and the mood is sincere and sometimes sad, but never so heavy as to make reading it a drag....more

The Midnight Watch is a strong debut novel built on meticulous research of the historical records. Prior to reading this book, I'd never even heard ofThe Midnight Watch is a strong debut novel built on meticulous research of the historical records. Prior to reading this book, I'd never even heard of the Californian, but a quick Google search shows just how real this nightmare story is. The Californian was nearby at the time that the Titanic was sinking, close enough to potentially have been able to save most or even all of those lost in the tragedy, and yet the ship did nothing in response to the Titanic's distress signals.

The author does a painstaking job of recreating the events of that terrible night. In alternating chapters, we see events unfold through the eyes of the men onboard the Californian, especially Herbert Stone, and then learn of the Titanic and the possible involvement of the Californian through the perspective of John Steadman, a journalist who specializes in giving voice to those who've died in tragic circumstances.

It's shocking to read that the officer of the watch saw the rockets, understood them to be distress signals, and then contacted the captain, only to do nothing once his captain chose to do nothing. The subsequent sets of lies and cover-ups and self-deceptions are equally disturbing and confusing. Why didn't the Californian respond? How could Captain Lord live with himself afterward? Why didn't the second officer do more if he truly believed he was witnessing a ship that needed help?

While The Midnight Watch lays out the events and presents a fictionalized accounting of what may have been going through the minds of the men involved, of course we'll never actually know the truth or why this terrible inaction transpired while people were dying nearby.

The book is well-written and the character of John Steadman is appealingly flawed -- a man who pursues the truth, even while drinking himself into oblivion and at the risk of his job. Captain Smith remains a haughty enigma. It's impossible to truly understand his role in the Titanic's sinking, but the portrayal of him here is certainly unflattering.

The piece of The Midnight Watch that carries the greatest emotional power comes toward the end, as the book includes the (fictional) account written by Steadman, called "Eight White Rockets". Steadman's piece describes events on the Californian that night, intercut with his recreation of the final hours spent on board the Titanic by a family of eleven -- a mother, father, and their nine children -- who all perished in the sinking. (This family, the Sage family, were real people who died in the disaster; the author has imagined what their experience might have been and why none survived.)

So many years later, the tragedy of the Titanic continues to fascinate us. The Midnight Watch describes a less well-known aspect of that terrible event, bringing to light facts and people that most with a casual interest in the Titanic today are probably unfamiliar with. The Midnight Watch blends historical details with a fictional story of journalistic research to create a compelling and moving tale. If you enjoy historical fiction and want to know more about the Titanic disaster, be sure to check this book out....more

I'm a bit of an Alaska geek, and one of the ways that comes out is that I'm inordinately excited whenever great new fiction set in Alaska appears on tI'm a bit of an Alaska geek, and one of the ways that comes out is that I'm inordinately excited whenever great new fiction set in Alaska appears on the horizon. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to get my hands on a copy of Eowyn Ivey's newest book -- I think I snagged the very first copy that arrived at my local library!

To the Bright Edge of the World is a novel told in letters and other first-person written documents, with occasional archival pieces such as newspaper clippings, photos, and maps mixed in as well. The main writings in this novel are journal entries by Colonel Allen Forrester and Sophie Forrester.

Allen is leading a small team of men up the dangerous and uncharted Wolverine River, with the goal of finding a passage through to the Yukon River. Previous expeditions have met disaster along the way and have been forced to abandon the attempt. Sophie is dismayed at the prospect of being left behind in the army barracks -- she'd originally intended to journey to the starting point of the expedition with Allen, but the unexpected news of her pregnancy forces her to abandon that plan.

Sophie is a bright, energetic young woman who has no interest in or patience for the small, suffocating social circle of officers' wives that seems to be her expected occupation while Allen is away. Sophie is fascinated by the natural world, and almost accidentally discovers an interest in photography. After a tragedy leaves her at loose ends, she purchases a camera, converts a room in her quarters into a dark room, and sets out to capture her concept of light through the photography of the wild birds in the area, with the elusive hummingbird as her true target.

Meanwhile, Allen's expedition is beset by challenges and hardships at every turn, from starvation to injury to the delicate task of asking the local tribes for assistance without being seen as enemies. Through it all, Allen and Sophie record their thoughts, hopes, and emotions, as well as their daily activities, in their journals. The picture that emerges is of two highly intelligent people who, despite seeming an odd match, are truly suited to each other in a way that's rare and beautiful.

The writing in To the Bright Edge of the World is lovely. The author captures the different writing styles and voices of the different characters, giving a unique flavor to the documents each writes. The descriptions of the landscapes and natural wonders is powerful, as are the thoughts and reflections on what it means to love another person, heart and soul.

There is yet another element to the book, which is the sense of the unexplained and magical that lives in the natural world. As Allen's small team progresses, they encounter things they cannot explain, including an Old Man who also appears to be a raven, who follows them along their path -- either to hurt or to help, they can't be quite sure. Other magical, otherworldly elements come into play, and it's interesting to note that while Allen records them all in his journals, the official reports of the expedition most certainly do not include these stories and observations.

Meanwhile, the framing device of the novel is a series of letters between an old man, a great-nephew of Colonel Forrester, and the curator of a small Alaskan musuem, as they get to know one another and form an odd friendship as they bond over the treasure trove of documents and artifacts from the family attic -- the documents that make up the bulk of the novel.

While I loved the characters, the setting, and the imagery, I do have some minor quibbles. My biggest quibble is the limiting effect of telling a story through documents rather than a direct narrative. While this gives us insight into the characters' thoughts, it's by necessity not the most immediate way of depicting the events. Instead of experiencing the most dramatic moments as if we were there, we're held at arms' length by reading about the events as the narrators remember and record them. The epistolary approach works in terms of letting us inside the characters' heads, but it's a distancing tool when it comes to living and breathing big adventures as they happen.

Likewise, because of the epistolary approach, the supporting characters are known only by the main characters' observations. I would have liked to know more about what makes certain characters tick, especially the soldiers in Allen's company and the young native woman who accompanies them, but I felt that we never truly get beyond their outward appearances. (Of course, this is actually rather true to life -- how do we get to know anyone, except by what they show us? It's only in books that we get to know another person's innermost thoughts.)

I question too the inclusion of the scattered photos, drawings, etc that pop up throughout the book. It felt to me as if they were included rather haphazardly -- if the decision was made to augment the story with these types of things, then there should have been more. I actually love seeing the old photos (as if they were truly the products of the fictional characters in the story), but I would have liked a stronger commitment to this approach. Either go for it, or leave them out!

The quibble about the writing style is what keeps this from being a five-star read for me, but overall, I do think the book is a wonderful achievement and hope that it will be widely read and appreciated. Sophie is a remarkable woman, well ahead of her time, and I admired her pioneering spirit and commitment to her dreams, and absolutely love how she and Allen support each other and refuse to be boxed in by the traditional ideas of a proper marriage at that time.

To the Bright Edge of the World is a beautifully written historical novel with well-developed characters and an unforgettable setting. If you enjoy historical fiction or even just have a hankering for Alaska, check it out....more

When I got to 47% and still found myself waiting for the story to begin, I knew it was time to quit. The story is full of charming, eccentric small toWhen I got to 47% and still found myself waiting for the story to begin, I knew it was time to quit. The story is full of charming, eccentric small town personalities in a quaint setting, but it just drags and drags and drags. I'd love to know if I'm missing out on an amazing second half, but as of now, I can't bring myself to continue....more

I really want to find the positive in this book, which I expected to like much more than I actually did.

The bare bones of the plot seemed promising: AI really want to find the positive in this book, which I expected to like much more than I actually did.

The bare bones of the plot seemed promising: A young girl escaping wartime Europe on her own ends up being taken in by the rowdy boys of the family next door. Addie loves all of the Connally boys, but falls in love with Charlie. War gets in the way, as does a family tragedy, and Addie ends up running away again and again, always looking for meaning and a place of her own.

The problem I had with this book is that none of the relationships felt convincing. In particular, Addie has at different points in the book three different love interests, but they all seem rather circumstantial. I never really got the emotional intensity that should have been there, and Addie's decision-making appears illogical at times.

As I turned the final pages, I still didn't understand why Addie had made some of the choices she'd made, and certainly never connected with her feelings. Perhaps there was too much telling and not enough showing: We're told about Addie's thoughts and motivations, but it all seemed very surface-level.

The time period and settings are all very dramatic, as you'd expect for a novel set during WWII, but for a historical romance, the romances themselves were dry and not terribly interesting or compelling....more